Name: Fresh Strawberry Buttermilk Shortcake
Ingredients: 2 cup flour; 1/4 cup sugar; 1 tablespoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup butter or margarine; 1/2 cup buttermilk; 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel; 2 eggs, divided; 2 pint baskets fresh California strawberries, stemmed and sliced; 1 cup whipping cream, whipped and sweetened

Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,721 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,973 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Buttermilk + creamtop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together674 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flour: Provides the structure that holds the shortcake together as it bakes.
Butter: Cut into the flour to create a tender, crumbly texture as it melts and steams.
Buttermilk: Adds moisture and tenderness, and its acidity reacts with baking soda to help the shortcakes rise.
Baking powder: Releases gas during baking, helping the shortcakes rise and become light.
Eggs: Bind the dough and, brushed on top, help the shortcakes brown and turn golden.
Strawberries: Supply sweet, tart fruit flavor and juice that soak into the shortcake layers.

The step that matters

Stir just until the soft dough forms. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour, which makes the shortcake tough and dense instead of tender. Combine the liquid and flour mixture only until no dry flour remains.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, buttermilk, egg, cream):

Raisinfits better
Vanillafits better
Lemonthe original
Coconutfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, butter, buttermilk, egg, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Strawberry	1 cup (152g)	49
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Fresh Strawberry Buttermilk Shortcake